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ENDORSEMENTS

Letter of Recommendation from Don Sebastiani

Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to recommend David Viviani.

This will be a chore for me; but not for the usual reasons. Typically, a letter like this might be a chore because I would need to think up many good things to say about a candidate. 

In fact, the chore here would be knowing when to stop.

 

David is the consummate foodie. He knows well, and personally loves, the interaction of good people with good food and beverages. This is true most especially with dairy, but a surprisingly broad field of other fine foods as well.

 

Although very comfortable in the boardroom or at a sales presentation, David is most at home at point-of-purchase. His natural thought patterns continually touch on the importance of packaging, price and promotion, the stimuli that motivate shoppers to make food purchasing decisions, the immutable importance of quality, and the sales mechanics that connect with the nuts-and-bolts requirements that go into running a successful food business. Like the need to be conscious of margins.

 

He is virtually a walking stereotype of the good will ambassador who connects really great food and beverages to the right consumer. From the very back of the shop (Ask him about how to make cheese; you will be very impressed.) to the very front, David sees the entire chain of supply as being whole; not a series of snapshots.

 

He’s experienced and accomplished at trade shows, local market promotions, government relations and even retail shop management. He is an excellent candidate for a senior position in project development, supply chain management, marketing, or public relations. And maybe at his very best at direct consumer contact. 

 

I could go on and on, but would actually prefer any interested party to reach out to me directly so I could expand further on whatever specific avenues of interest one might have regarding his qualifications. This guy is a great candidate for more areas of food and beverage management than can reasonably be squeezed into a letter like this.


Please feel free to give me the pleasure of a call so that I can expand upon David’s gifted skill set and his many accomplishments.

Many thanks.

Don Sebastiani

2011 CCBA Hall of Fame/Lifetime Achievement Recipient

David has been involved with the California Cheese & Butter Association for over 30 years. He served on the Board of Directors for the past 15 years, and was the Association President from 2007 - 2010.  Mr. Viviani is the first recipient of the CCBA Hall of Fame and Lifetime Achievement Award for 2011.

Mr. Viviani was president and co-owner of Sonoma Cheese Factory for over 40 years.   Sonoma Cheese Factory, home of "Sonoma Jack", was established by his grandfather in 1931.  Mr. Viviani is a well known and highly regarded food professional who has vast experience marketing California specialty products locally and nationally.  He is extremely dedicated to his endeavors in the dairy industry.

In addition to his experience in local food production, marketing and distribution, Mr. Viviani has been involved with several other professional and civic organizations. In most organizations in which he has participated, he has risen to a position of leadership. He is past president or chairman of the U.S. Cheese Maker's Association, Dairy Council of California, California Creamery Operators Association, Sonoma County Harvest Fair, Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau, Sonoma Valley Chamber of Commerce, and the Sonoma County Economic Development Board.

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